A number of different types of devices have been proposed in the past to facilitate the chore of washing dishes. Most notably, dishwashers have become quite common in new homes, but their installation in older homes is still a difficult and expensive project which tends to be avoided. Thus, dishwashing remains a chore in many dwellings.
Even in new, modern homes, equipped with modern dishwashers, the busy lifestyles of so many people are such that they prefer not having to deal with dirty dishes right after a meal, and would rather put off the task until more time is available. Even putting the dishes in a dishwasher is a time consuming task which often is deferred until later in the day, or even the next day. But, when the dishes are not washed immediately, the food dries on the dishes and is more difficult, and even more time consuming, to wash later.
Some devices have been proposed to help alleviate the task of washing dishes, and these devices have met with varying degrees of success, depending upon the nature of the accessory. One such device is in the nature of an insert for a conventional sink, and serves as a dish rinser. Such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,620 to Gresh, and primarily comprises an insert for the sink. The insert is very similar to the sink itself, but is lower in its height, so that any grease which floats on the water in the insert may be skimmed off. This device, however, provides very little benefit over the conventional sink, and of course is of lesser capacity than the regular sink with which it is used.
Another type of insert is intended to be used with a tub. Such an insert is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,842,289 to Russel, and enables the tub to function as a kitchen sink with a drainboard. However, such an insert seems to significantly reduce the capacity of the tub.
Still another insert is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,205,018 to Osuch, which describes an insert which permits a tub to be used as a sink.
The foregoing inserts as described in the prior art, all suffer from various disadvantages and combinations of disadvantages. For example, a leading disadvantage is that the prior inserts tend to reduce the usable capacity of the sink, meaning that less dishes may be washed or that an overflow condition is more likely to develop during use.
Another disadvantage is that difficulty is encountered in draining the water from the insert. The need to reach into the dirty, greasy water is distasteful to many persons. When this is coupled with the reduced capacity, little need remains for the prior types of sink inserts, and thus they have achieved little, if any success.
Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to overcome the disadvantages of prior sink inserts.
Another object of the invention is to provide a sink insert which may be used with conventional kitchen sinks to facilitate the rinsing and/or soaking of dishes, pots, pans, and the like.
A further object of the invention is to provide an insert for a kitchen sink which does not reduce, but may even increase, the capacity of the conventional sink with which is it used.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a sink insert having a drain which may be opened or closed without reaching into the water.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a sink insert which has an overflow which helps to prevent water from spilling out of the insert onto the adjacent counter when adding dishes, water, etc.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a more versatile sink insert which may be used as a freestanding sink for soaking, washing or rinsing dishes, and may be easily drained into the standard kitchen sink.